Recipes for success with ground hunting?

[Robyn Hode]

I agree with maineac on the back cover. I hunt mostly from the ground in both hardwood forests and scrub brush. Sometimes it's better to sit in front of a tree wider than your body than to put a blind in a bad spot or sit behind a bush that still shows your outline.

[dhermon85]

This is really my first year hunting on the ground and I've had more fun than I've ever had in a tree. Big factors I've had are wind and getting drawn. I try to have a tree(or bush) on both sides of me to be able to get drawn. And as has been said, don't wait to long for the shot, you will get busted.

[Roger Norris]

You guys that hunt with Ghillie suits.....how much do you trim the burlap hanging off of the bow arm?

I have been messing with one, and use it gun hunting turkey's a lot. But The is just so much material dangling.....my bow shot angles are really restricted.

[Mojostick]

My advice is to be a slave to the wind. Many treestand bow hunters and gun hunters can sometimes cheat the wind a little bit and sometimes a lot, depending on how variable the winds. Not so on the ground with traditional bows. For example, if winds are variable from the south, then you really have to stay out of any setup that doesn't have you on the north side of the trail. You're too close and at nose level, where swirling variable winds "pollutes" the whole area. Thermals will cause the same problems.

Other advice is, if hunting heavily pressured deer, you'll need far more cover around you than you think. I've hunted in Illinois and Texas with light pressure and could get away with sitting almost in the open. But in Michigan, where my family property is located, we have upwards of 20 deer hunters per mile. Even fawns will bust you if you don't have lots of cover.

If you put lots of cover infront and behind you, I suggest having little "windows" to see deer coming. I equate my style of ground hunting deer to that of pass shooting ducks. Ground hunting a trail in thick cover allows you good shots at very close range, but the shooting can be fast. Meaning, the deer suddenly show up, are walking down a trail and can be past you in a matter of seconds. Basically, the deer I've killed using this method had about 10-30 seconds from the time of sighting them to when the arrow was released. Fast shooting, but a productive method.

[jonsimoneau]

I don't do it all the time, because I prefer to be in a tree due to the increased visibility but I have had luck with a Ghillie suit.  I love the one made Marc Anthony.  It's super lightweight, and was designed by a bowhunter for a bowhunter.  Nothing interferes with your bowstring. I have found that face paint or a face mask is very important on the ground.  I use face paint most of the time and I completely cover my face.  Not just a few streaks here and there.  I use the cheap Halloween paint that you can buy anywhere.  I cover any and all exposed skin, including that on my hands.  I now prefer to be standing up rather than sitting on a stool.  If I stand with my back against a tree that is at least as wide as my waist, deer will either walk right past without noticing, or they will glance my way and look at me but not see me.  One flick of the tail and off they go. My buddy has killed the majority of his deer on the ground.  A couple of years ago we were hunting in famed Pike County and he shot 2 Pope and Young bucks in 2 days on the ground in his Ghillie suit.  Good stuff! I shot this one this season thinking it was a large doe.  He only had one side of a deformed antler that I could not see but ended up weighing 198 pounds on the hoof.

 

[jonsimoneau]

The Ghillie suit above is the one Marc Anthony designed.  Notice there is nothing on the inside of my bow arm to interfere with the bowstring.  This suit is also very lightweight and not too warm. Its a great setup and comes in the color you see here, as well as a spring green one.  I'm going to get the spring green one because a lot of my areas are choked in honeysuckle and I feel the green one will blend in even better.

[jonsimoneau]

Also about the face paint thing.  In the picture above, I had already dragged the deer, washed my hands etc., and had sweated off some of the stuff on my face. But I now completely cover my face, and hands with the cheap Halloween paint.  It has made a major difference for me.

[Keb]

Buck fever is taken to a new level from the ground, it's a rush like no other to have a deer or any kind let alone old big daddy at eye level mere yards away.

[Mudd]

Your statement"....fuse with the woods." has all the ingredients for success.

Patience and timing are your friends... get to know and practice them.

Learn from your mistakes and do not expect that you won't repeat them once in a while.

God bless,Mudd

[Cavscout9753]

Thanks everyone! Wife is finishing some shopping while I mind the boys and then I'm off. I've got the ghillie suit scent-drying, new yarn silencers on the string (I like to pull off little tufts of the yarn to check the wind and for $1.50 for a spool it cant be beat for hundreds of replacement silencers, haha). I have just the spot in mind. A hardwoods creek/scrub brush transition. The game trail runs along the border of the woods and brush until the creek and then turns into the woods to follow the creek. It has a lot of thick spots and then some good openings but no trees for a stand. If you got up past 10' I dont think I'd see much and the shot windows would be dodgy and few. Perfect to hone the ground skills a bit. Thanks for all of the help!

[amazonjim]

If walking, go slow, then slow down

[macbow]

Roger, I strip most everything off the bow arm.
Have gone as far as removing the bow arm sleeve.